Build a Bike Patch and Flat Kit

If you own a bike, you need a flat-fixing kit. It’s really that simple. Sure, maybe you’ll get lucky and get a flat close to a shop, or the buses will be running on time for once, but even with all that going for you, getting stranded across town will cost you time, money, and precious sanity. You can put together a great kit in less time than it takes to read this guide.

We spoke to a broad spectrum of cyclists—from a pro racer to a bike messenger turned mechanic to a touring cyclist who has logged thousands of miles throughout Europe—to find out what items they find indispensable. We sorted through 40 tire levers, almost 30 different kinds of patches, 120 different hand pumps, and 57 seat bags before we narrowed our choices for testing. And then we changed and patched tires more than 50 times, using four different bikes, five different wheels, six different tires, and almost 10 different sizes of tubes. After 96 hours of combined testing, we agree these essentials are some of the best you can buy.

Why you should trust us

To get started, we consulted a broad array people for this guide, with a wide variety of cycling styles. They’ve all put together kits that are unique to their personalities and needs. It’s a deep, satisfactory joy to lay out a finely curated kit, and we’re hoping you’ll find a carry method that speaks to you.

Alison Tetrick’s road kit. Photo: Alison Tetrick

Ramona Mark’s touring kit. Photo: Ramona Mark

Scott Karoly’s commuter kit.
Photo: Scott Karoly

Alison Tetrick’s road kit. Photo: Alison Tetrick

Ramona Mark’s touring kit. Photo: Ramona Mark

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When I interviewed Ramona Marks she was a mechanic at Bicycle Kitchen in LA. She has logged thousands of miles touring the world on her bike since 2010. Her kit is outfitted with gear that makes life easier for a touring cyclist, such as some full-size tools, which make frequent field repairs more manageable.

I spoke to Scott Karoly, a sales associate at Alameda Bicycle, who carries the essentials for his urban commuting, plus some special wrenches for his specific bike.

And I spoke with Alison Tetrick, a pro athlete, founding board member of the Women’s Cycling Association, and member of the board of directors for USA Cycling. She carries a downsized road-riding kit and relies on CO2 cartridges for fast inflation, because she gets two or three flats a day, every day.

I also spoke with resident mechanic Cari Z at (the sadly now closed) Bay Area Bikes in Oakland, California, a former messenger who had a dozen sneaky tricks for changing tires, carrying tools, and preventing flats (but, alas, no photos of her bike bag).

Who this is for

We focused on tools that would be useful to a commuter—someone trying to use a bike as a functional way to get around town, as opposed to riding recreationally (road biking and mountain biking). That said, it’s a wild and wooly bicycling world out there, and the streets are packed with so many different bikes, all shapes and sizes, new and old. Customizing your flat-fixing kit has advantages over buying a preassembled kit that always contains a tool (or two or three) that’s a piece of junk, or you don’t need. Or it’s missing something you do need. If you build your own kit, at least you know everything works. And you can add only what’s necessary for your specific bike without ending up with stuff you don’t need.

Road riders need lightweight, tiny tools that can fit into jersey pockets. A lot of those items are made of carbon fiber, which is lighter than aluminum. Other iconic trappings of road riding, like CO2 cartridges and spandex outfits, are also geared toward minimalism, but all of that downsizing comes at a cost. Commuters don’t have to be as concerned with weight, so unless you covet something specific, don’t spend the extra money.

Mountain bikers are in different world of repair entirely, one that borders on the comedic absurd. It includes large pumps designed to fill up big, fat tires that squish over things, and a medley of assorted slimes meant to be injected into tubes or tires. In that world, the number of days it takes you to fix your tire and return from the wilderness is a badge of courage—bonus points if you’re bleeding—and we’re guessing that’s not what you’re going for next time you set out for groceries.

Commuters need products that are effective and reliable. The day you need them, they have to work. The essentials listed in this guide are the items you must have if you ever hope to get going again after having a flat. If you do nothing else, pick up these three things and take a second to learn how to use them.

Essentials: Rema TT 02 Touring Repair Kit

Photo: Kyle Fitzgerald

Our pick

Buying Options

A good patch will stick to your tube enough to keep air from leaking out. A great patch will act like a second skin and actually strengthen the tube where it’s applied, flexing and stretching with the tire. After 36 hours of testing, our official endorsement goes to the Rema TT 02 Touring Repair Kit. Its patches do everything other patches do, just better. The edge of the patch is also ruffled, which provides more edge surface area to bond—that’s a good thing.

Patch kits come with patches in a few different sizes, a small bit of sandpaper, and a tube of vulcanizer. Vulcanizer is the “glue.” Cari Z, who was a mechanic at Bay Area Bikes at the time of our interview, explained, “Vulcanization is the chemical bonding process that takes place between patches” and the tube.

An up-close view of the ruffled edges on Rema’s patches. Photo: Kyle Fitzgerald

There are patches that don’t require vulcanizer—the infamous peel-and-stick. One brand, the Park Tool GP-2, has some genuinely enthusiastic endorsements, so we tested it. I applied Park Tool patches to four different tires, at three different psi levels (60, 90, and 120). Three of the four didn’t hold—two released within minutes. The fourth deflated overnight. I redid the test, but repeated a second time, they all leaked within a day.

Though I often have colleagues and acquaintances text me smug anecdotes of their peel-and-sticks working, I am not convinced they’re actually working. They could possibly be pressed firmly up against the tire rim, or some other incalculable magic, but if it were me I’d toss those in the garbage and get serious. This is bike repair, people.

In addition to the Rema patches, put a new tire tube in your kit. The best method for dealing with a flat roadside is to swap out the tube and save the task of patching for later. If you’re not sure what size your tires are, it’s printed on the sidewall of the tire. This inner-tube buying guide has some photos of where to look. What brand is almost irrelevant as many tubes get manufactured in the same place, so whatever your local shop has behind the counter for under $10 will work fine. The only reason to spend more would be to save weight.

Now you might be wondering: “I’m carrying a tube; why carry patches at all?” As insurance for the unforeseeable. Wirecutter senior editor Christine Ryan admits she didn’t use to pack them, but said, “I’ve regretted that decision when I’ve had a flat on a ride, used my spare tube, and then, half an hour later, had a second flat. Also, lots of people aren’t very good at figuring out—or don’t take the time to figure out—what caused their flat and remove the cause: thorn, eensy bit of glass, whatever. Then they promptly have a second flat, and everyone else laughs at them.”

So don’t get laughed at by your cycling brethren—be the hero instead. Always check your tire for the what caused the flat, get rid of it, and drag around a patch kit just in case.

Essentials: Pedro’s Tire Levers

Photo: Kyle Fitzgerald

Our pick

Buying Options

Every expert I spoke to recommended Pedro’s Tire Levers by name. They have a wide body—a different shape than other models we tested—and that prevents breakage, but more important, the broad, flat surface area of the tip helps it stay locked under your tire. When a lever slips from under the bead of the tire, you can end up repeatedly scraping your knuckles on the spokes of the wheel, which is so annoying. Pedro’s levers are small enough to fit into a saddlebag, are sold widely in bike shops, and even come with a lifetime guarantee. If one breaks, Pedro’s will replace it.

The Pedro’s levers (right) are much wider, and more reliable, than the Park Tool ones. Photo: Kyle Fitzgerald

More than any other tool in the kit, a reliable lever makes changing a tire easier, especially if you have road bike tires, which are difficult to remove. However, throughout testing, levers seemed to be the one item more prone to failure and poor design than anything else. For example, I found a random orange lever floating around my basement and I threw it in the test pool for fun—it seemed solid enough ... until I began prying at the rim of a tire. It bent directly in half, slowly and smoothly, like taffy, and then was boomerang shaped forevermore.

The Pedro’s lever slipped only once throughout testing, though that may have been my fault because I was spaced out after changing 16 different tires. So they’re not foolproof, but they are far and away more reliable than the next closest competitor, from Park Tool, because the small, rounded tip on that one is hard to keep seated under the tire. Not impossible, but I wouldn’t choose it over Pedro’s.

Bike Radar gives the Pedro’s levers 4.55 out of five stars and claims they’re the “best out there.” (Can we pause to admire the extra five hundredths of a star the site chose to award it? Very specific.) Aaron Gulley, writing for Outside, states, “I can’t count the number of times I’ve snapped cheap plastic sticks, shredded my hand in the process, stomped around cursing in pain for 10 minutes, and then, insult to injury, been tool-less and unable to get my tire off anyway. That will never happen with Pedro’s.”

Buying Options

Bicycle hand pumps aren’t substitutes for floor pumps. They will never work as well—pumping a tire without using the ground for leverage is awkward at best and demoralizing at worst. So consider this an on-the-road model only, and if you’re looking for a floor pump, check out our full guide.

The Lezyne Pressure Drive’s solid aluminum body, smooth pumping action, removable hose, and secure pump-to-valve attachment make for a handheld pump that is functional and efficient. Among all the pumps we tested, nothing reached this level of quality at the same price.

The standout feature is the detachable hose that accommodates both Presta and Schrader valves. To use the pump, remove the hose from its storage place inside the pump’s body. Each end of the hose is clearly marked with either “Presta” or “Schrader.” Screw one end onto the pump’s body. Then, instead of relying on friction or a thumb lock—the other two common methods of attaching a handheld pump to a valve—you screw the other end onto the threaded tip of your valve. Every time, the seal held fast no matter how hard we pumped. And like all hose attachments, this one reduces the odds of bending or even breaking the valve.

The Pressure Drive is advertised as a low-volume, high-pressure pump for road bikes, and we were able to get to 100 psi on our 700c tire in 300 strokes. Even though that’s a serious, sweaty workout, it’s a high bar to set for a handheld pump, one that not all of the pumps we tested could accomplish. Knowing that high-pressure road tires are this pump’s specialty, we were surprised we could fill a lower-pressure tire without taking a long, long time. It took us 150 strokes to fill a hybrid tire to 35 psi, and 290 strokes to get a mountain bike tire to 30 psi. That may sound like a lot, but those are very respectable numbers, especially given the pump’s small size.

With pumps like this, which attach to a valve stem by screwing it on, it’s possible to unscrew a removable valve core while removing your pump. (There goes all your hard-earned air, in a rush!) If you like to use valves with removable cores—you know who you are—the Pressure Drive has an integrated valve core tool. This is also what you need to fix a leaky stem, which could be the cause of your flat in the first place.

If you ride a mountain bike or any kind of tire that has a very low psi rating, a high-volume, low-pressure pump may be a better choice to take on the trail with you. The Lezyne Alloy Drive is the equivalent of the Pressure Drive for mountain bike tires.

Lezyne also provides a two-year warranty that covers manufacturer defects, and you can replace worn-out O-rings and the like with replacement parts from the Lezyne site.

Nice-to-haves

Our pick

Buying Options

Writer Peter Flax, the former editor-in-chief of Bicycling magazine, rode over 1,000 miles and tested 15 tools for our full-length guide to multi-tools, and he concluded the Topeak Mini 9 is the best for casual cyclists. It’s tiny, it’s light, it’s easier to get some leverage with than other tools that have different designs. It’s not meant for serious wrenching on your bike, but it’s good for on-the-fly adjustments.

It includes nine tools: seven hex bolts, one torx bolt (the star-shaped one), and a Phillips screwdriver (also the star-shaped one). Like Peter says in our guide, if you have a newer mountain bike or road bike it pays to take a quick look at what types of tools you need, as torx bolts are becoming more common. And a quick glance at the bottom of your shoes or derailleur bolts will confirm if a Phillips head is the right choice.

Otherwise, this tool should serve the average commuter well. Specifically, we think you’ll find the size 4, 5, and 6 hex keys, extremely common sizes in bicycles, very helpful. They’ll adjust seat-post heights or let you remove the saddle entirely, or tighten a loose stem that’s always rattling apart. The Phillips head will tighten loose bolts on shoe cleats or the rear derailleur. The most common use for the torx would be adjusting disc brakes if you have ’em.

Photo: Kyle Fitzgerald

Our pick

Buying Options

The BV Bicycle Strap-On Saddle Bag is the best option for your money. Sure, it’s some random brand, but after we compared eight popular models, we noticed it’s identical to the better-known versions, has less Velcro (which is a big advantage), and costs half as much.

This time, the Serfas is on the left—see its Velcro strap sticking up, ready to abrade your shorts? Photo: Kyle Fitzgerald

On the left above is our top pick, the BV, and on the right the Serfas Speed Bag, another option much loved by Amazon users. They’re both made from the same pattern and same materials, down to the mesh and key fob in the interior. The BV however, is half the price.

One key difference, that you can see in the photo, is that the BV uses buckles instead of Velcro on the straps that attach the bag to the underside of the saddle, something much more important than it may seem. A pair of bike shorts (or any shorts) will shred quickly if they’re rubbing against that tiny bit of Velcro protruding from the side of the bag, and it’s sure to destroy expensive sweaters and gym clothes if you stuff the bag into your backpack or messenger bag.

The fabric attachment system is low-tech, but that seems to be helpful, as it can adapt to seat rails of different widths. One fancier option you might see on more expensive seat bags is a quick-release mount that you install under your saddle. But those have a fixed width, and therefore can fit under seats with only those exact specs. Brooks saddles, for example, are too wide for these mounts.

Still, these things are fairly standardized and if you have a newer bike it’s likely you’ll have no issue getting a quick release under there if you want—but check your bike first. And as such, we’ve found the adaptability of the strap mount to be a great advantage.

Which size is right for you? It depends. Seat bags aren’t supposed to carry windbreakers or bike locks or animals. They are meant for emergency tools.

Hello, world. Photo: Kyle Fitzgerald

This is how your patch supplies fit into the size medium BV seat bag, or 100ish cubic inches. Tube sizes vary widely—this one is smallish, for a 700c road tire. A 26-inch tire, like you would see on a hybrid bike, is much bigger.

In spite of seat bags’ diminutive size, a lot of people really, really want them to accommodate more stuff. If that’s you, the medium and large seat bag (but not the small) have an extendable gill at the bottom, which you can see in the image up top. It zips open to create more room. With it unzipped, we could cram a wallet, keys, and phone inside the medium as well.

One flaw? Seat bags can block taillights. This one has a loop on the outside you can clip your blinker to. Seat bags also typically do not fit hand pumps. No big deal, just toss the pump into your bag, stick it in a jersey pocket, or mount it to your bike (the Sport Drive comes with a mount).

Photo: Kyle Fitzgerald

Our pick

Buying Options

Many bikes, including older models and track bikes, have bolts attaching the wheels to the frame instead of quick-release levers. If your wheels are bolted on, in most cases you’ll need a 15 mm wrench to remove it. We didn’t test wrenches, because there aren’t that many tiny 15 mm wrenches, but the GearWrench 15mm 12-Point Stubby Combination Wrench is perfect for stuffing into a flat kit and Amazon reviewers seem to think the same. Our experts also recommended the Surly Jethro Tule, but it’s expensive and harder to find.

How we picked and tested

First, I researched. I looked at Amazon’s top-rated products and their user reviews. Then I consulted Bicycling magazine, Gear Junkie, Bike Radar, Outside, and the occasional bit by Lennard Zinn via Velonews. I also found some worthwhile discussions at Bike Forums. Then I spoke with four experts, Ramona Marks, Scott Karoly, Cari Z, and Alison Tetrick, riders from all across the spectrum, who tour, repair, and race.

This is where the rubber met the road … or the tire lever met the rubber. Photo: Eve O’Neill

We used paint pens to keep track of which patches we used on which tubes, but they also come in handy to mark where the actual hole is once you’ve located it. Photo: Eve O’Neill

This is where the rubber met the road … or the tire lever met the rubber. Photo: Eve O’Neill

We used paint pens to keep track of which patches we used on which tubes, but they also come in handy to mark where the actual hole is once you’ve located it. Photo: Eve O’Neill

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Based on what we found, we chose the most relevant items and used them all. To test patches, I repaired holes using four different types of patches, from Novara (REI’s now-discontinued house brand), Park Tool, and Rema. Patching a tube isn’t hard but there are a few tricks, and the key was attention to detail and patience. I was extremely diligent in following proper patch procedure, which includes a thorough sanding of the entire area to be patched (for max stickiness) and properly letting the vulcanizer dry on both surfaces before applying. For the peel-and-stick patches, I went so far as to prep the area with canned air to ensure as tight a seal as we could possibly muster.

I tested four popular levers, including the Crankbrothers Speedier Lever, a Quik Stik, Pedro’s, and the ubiquitous blue Park Tool. We changed four different types of tires (mountain, hybrid, road, and track) with four different psi levels (40, 60, 90, 110) and watched how each performed.

I chose to test these four levers after eliminating everything out there that’s not appropriate for a roadside emergency kit. That includes metal levers. They’re durable, but according to touring cyclist Ramona Marks, “Metal tire levers are trouble. It’s possible to rip your tube even with the plastic ones if you’re not careful, so metal is out of the question, and you don’t want to put pressure against the wheel rim with a metal lever.”

If you do, you’re asking for a bent rim, which means buying a new wheel. We also eliminated metal-core levers, which are metal levers with a plastic outside coating. I eliminated everything that looked cheap, bendable, or breakable. I also eliminated long, large single levers that would be more comfortable sitting on your at-home tool bench.

We bumped a lot of product out of the test pool for hand pumps, too. You don’t need a lot of specialized design when it comes to a hand pump, so we set aside carbon models and hand pumps with two-stage designs. We also didn’t consider CO2 cartridges for this guide, though I’m 100 percent aware that there are commuters who use and love them.

First, carbon. You already know you don’t need it for your casual weekend pursuits, because you’re not counting ounces the way a professional road racer would. But to quote an article from Velonews, “Remember that professional athletes operate in an entirely different environment than the rest of us. They are all very close to each other in terms of fitness, and they are also all very close to being the absolute best a human being can be. In short, you’re much better off upgrading your legs and dropping body fat through proper training and diet.”

As a tester and editor subjected to a relentless onslaught of press releases highlighting the benefits of new, lightweight, (and expensive) gear, this reverse sentiment delights me. It’s honest, and accurate.

Next, two-stage designs. There are two types of hand pump. HV (high-volume) pumps, ones that pump a lot of air but don’t have a lot of pressure, which are used for mountain bikes. The Lezyne Alloy Drive is a high-volume pump. Then there are HP (high-pressure) pumps, which pump a small amount of air but can inflate to very high pressures and are used on road bikes. Our top pick is a high-pressure pump.

A two-stage hand pump tries to marry the best features of both types of pumps: the quick inflation of high volume that can achieve the higher psi ranges of high pressure. But to steal a quote from our floor pump guide, “You pump eight times or you pump 10 times—what does it matter?” That’s a quote from Daimeon Shanks, who at the time was a mechanic for the Garmin-Sharp pro tour team—that’s right, Tour de France, baby.

Basically, you’re stuck with toggling between systems for the advantage of a few pumps, and it doesn’t seem worth it. In the original iteration of this guide, I tested 12 pumps and inflated three different tires completely full to their psi rating, and measured how many pumps it took. Yasuda did similarly for his revamped full-length exploration. That’s 36 tires, and I can guarantee there is no difference between 50 pumps and 100—it’s all terrible.

Finally, comparing seat bags was fun. The identical construction of every model revealed itself immediately. That always feels like a win. Then we used them: attached them all to the bike, inspected them for nefarious Velcro, and vetted basic usability to determine the best option.

The competition

Patches

The differences between the Novara Patch Kit (REI’s in-house brand, which is now discontinued) and the Park Tool Vulcanizing Patch Kit are infinitesimal. They’re both made in Taiwan. The patches are exactly the same. The sandpaper, identical. They both made effective repairs, but neither were as good as the Rema.

Levers

We like, and recommend, the Crankbrothers Speedier Lever. If you have to pick only one, go with the Pedro’s, but if you want a backup or have some hard tires to unseat, Crankbrothers is a great choice. It’s only one lever (as opposed to a set of two, like the Pedro’s) and it’s longer, so we didn’t pick it over the Pedro’s for portability reasons. But it’s an excellent tool. It has a wide handle you can grip with your whole hand. Like the Pedro’s, the tip is the right size and shape to prevent slipping and stay in place, and the shape of the handle happens to protect your knuckles if you do slip. Even in situations where I didn’t need it, I liked having it because it made me feel like a pro.

Park Tool’s TL-1 Levers were Pedro’s stiffest competition because they’re so pervasive, but not from a literal stiffness standpoint. Bike shop employees had plenty of tales of broken Park Tools—they had none about the Pedro’s. In our testing the Park Tool levers slipped, too.

People who use Quik Stiks love them. Ours removed most tires with the ease that proponents swear by. But they struggled with the road tires. The tips aren’t as broad or chisel-like as the Crankbrothers Speedier Lever’s and are harder to work in tight situations.

Seat bags

The Serfas Speed Bag has the same design as the BV, but is about twice as expensive. It also attaches with Velcro, which isn’t ideal.

Topeak’s Aero Wedge Pack is a slightly different shape and size than the other bags we tested, and it worked fine, but it’s more expensive and didn’t have anything better to offer than our pick.

The mount for the Topeak Aero Wedge with QuickClick did fit my seat, and the device worked as advertised. But for compatibility reasons, we like the basic models for most people.

I used the Lezyne Micro Caddy to see if a size below small would be an option for commuters, but it’s not big enough to hold larger tubes, the sleeves inside of it for levers can’t fit the wide Pedro’s, and it couldn’t fit my multi-tool (I have a pretty big one). Small is good, but this is too small, unless you’re a road bike rider.

I love the design of the Lezyne Road Caddy, which opens like a clamshell to reveal your repair kit and then folds away into the perfect shape to store in a bag or backpack. But again, this is designed specifically for road bikes and can’t fit a larger tube, restricting its practicality.

Sources

Cari Z, then mechanic at Bay Area Bikes and former messenger, interview